Star Wars Saga DVDs

SVTStingRay · 08-31-2008, 08:56 PM

Just wanted to say welcome. any news on the uber-star wars saga box set thats always been rumored to be released or possibly on bluray?
whats your opinion on why it hasnt come out, lucas has always been a fan of high tech yet hes dragged his feet in regards of dvd technology and now with bluray as well. thanks

Van Ling · 09-02-2008, 03:39 PM

Thanks for the welcome, Daniel...

I can only say that I personally have no news regarding any SW uberset... although I'm sure they have it in their master plan at some later date.

I think that for Lucasfilm it has less to do with the "let's push technology" side of them than the business side. Home video and ancillary markets like toys are what the bulk of the LFL empire is built upon (Lord knows we've all contributed to that!). Like Spielberg, Lucas is a savvy-enough businessman when it comes to his bread-and-butter income areas to wait until the kinks of the format are worked out by someone else and the market penetration is high enough to guarantee an immediate high profit. Only then will they release the crown jewels in the format, to maximize the return... so THEN he can put some of that money back into being on the cutting edge of technology.

So I guess the lesson there is that if we want the SW films out on BD sooner, we need to get the general public to fully embrace BD like they did DVD!

It's very shrewd from a business standpoint on LFL's part; I will leave it to others to decide if it seems too coldly calculating. As you may know, ILM let go of their entire physical miniatures shop in order to focus on digital effects only... some of those modelmakers had been making ILM what it was for 30-plus years. People said the same thing about Eisner: you might not like the often-brutal business practices he brought to Disney (like dumping a lot of Walt's loyal cel animators) and think he's sold out the brand, but there's no arguing that he raised the profits of that company.

Fortunately for the ILM modelmakers, one of their own bought out the shop and have made it a separate company that ILM now can bring work to when they need physical models (which thank goodness is still quite a lot), without LFL itself having to carry the overhead. They did the same thing with THX as a division.

As for my part, there is no guarantee that I will be working on any future SW projects. I'd certainly be honored and am interested as a fan, but that's up to LFL. One of the other casualties of the modern business climate --regardless of what business you're in-- is employer loyalty. If they do not value the level of work and think it can be done cheaper elsewhere, it goes elsewhere. To be fair, there are also other creative directions to go for which they may want to try different (and potentially cheaper) service vendors, or they might simply want their contractors to know that everyone is expendable when it comes to making a higher profit (i.e. Master Replicas). From a shrewd business standpoint, you have to respect it, but from a loyalty and quality standpoint... well, it's kind of like shooting Old Yeller, but without the emotional angst over it. ;-)

V

Oliver_A · 09-10-2008, 09:35 PM

Dear Mr. Ling,

I am sorry in advance if I my questions are in any way inappropriate here, since you may either be the wrong person to ask, or just unable to answer these questions for legal or other reasons, but there are some issues which many Star Wars fans are pondering about, and it might be worth to ask them here.

Every release of the classic Star Wars trilogy is always accompanied by one neverending issue to most fans: what about the unaltered originals? The 2004 set did not have them, but the 2006 release first shocked the fanbase with the announcement they would include the original releases and then again with the announcement the masters would just be the non-anamorphic 1993 laserdisc masters, which, apart from being non-anamorphic, have lots of problems due to heavy noise filters applied to them.

We all appreciate your work on the Star Wars DVD's, and we know those kind of decisions are made by Lucasfilm. You are clearly the wrong person to direct any kinds of complaints to, since I strongly assume you would, like most fans, love to have the unaltered trilogy in good quality, too.

The question however, which might be interesting to ask you is, do you have any theory what changed their mind to include the original releases on the 2006 DVD set? Was it due to fan protests? To dry out the bootleg market for the original releases? Or any other kind of "pressure" from "outside" ?

The key question, to what this post is leading to, is: what can we fans do to signal Lucasfilm there is a market for the unaltered trilogy to appear on high definition formats? Was the 2006 release a direct result of fan requests, or the fan preservation efforts?

Anyway, again, I am sorry if this question is inappropriate here, and everyone should understand if you can not answer it. If it causes any inconvenience here, then please delete it, because you are doing a great job here interacting with the users, and I most certainly don't want to make this an unpleasant experience for you.

Keep up the great work!

Van Ling · 09-11-2008, 04:08 AM

Oliver: I certainly cannot speak for Lucasfilm, but it is my belief that they will never release the unaltered original trilogy in any new transfer, let alone in high-def. Lucas pretty much has called those versions "works-in-progress" and considers the Special Editions to be the legitimate final versions of the films. Apart from the fact that the amount of work it would take to do new transfers from old dupe negs is probably not worth it to Lucasfilm, doing so would also cast some doubt as to the legitimacy of the Special Editions.

As for the 2006 original versions on DVD, I believe that it was purely a business decision to sell more DVDs. They basically took the three feature discs from the 4-disc Trilogy set (which I worked on) and slapped an existing transfer of the original versions on separate new bonus discs (which I did not work on), and sold each film separately so that you had to buy literally the same feature discs you already had from the Trilogy set AGAIN just to get the original versions. The fact that those versions were just from the existing laserdisc transfer masters meant that it cost them virtually nothing to put them on DVD, and they can simply say that they gave the fans what they wanted --the "original versions"-- even though some true fans wouldn't buy what they might have considered to be a half-assed bit of lip service that was less of an accommodation of the fans than kind of a "screw-you, let's see if you'll buy anything from us" business opportunity. The fact that these 2006 discs did not sell too well (so I've heard) was likely considered by Lucasfilm to be "proof" that the market for the original versions is too niche to be respected, and that in reality only a small group of rabid fans really want it. So as far as the Lucasfilm business folks are concerned, they gave the fans what they wanted and not many of them bought it, so now it's REALLY a dead issue.

Note that this is all speculation, and that this is just the cynical side of me rendering an analysis/opinion on the subject. I will note, however, that I don't have another side on this issue. ;-)

V

Oliver_A · 09-11-2008, 06:01 AM

Thanks for sharing with us your POV on this issue. I guess it's better to be cynical, hoping for nothing and then suddenly be positively surprised when things turn out differently. As long as there are active fans out there, being really concerned about the state of the original films, not all hope will be lost.

**HTF Ads**

Van Ling · 09-11-2008, 11:58 AM

Oliver - as a big fan of the originals myself, I actually try to take this following analogy in perspective: it's like seeing a girl you dated in high school now having gone through a lot of plastic surgery (perhaps excessively so)... she's still around, and you can sort of visit with her if you want, and you can respect her choices and her vanity for doing what she did to herself and acknowledge that she no longer looks like the same person you knew back in the day... but you'll always have the memories of prom night to hold onto and remember, and you still have the grainy prom photos you can look at. So you move on, share the photo with your kids if you want, and let it be.

Understand that fully half the moviegoing experience is what YOU as a viewer bring to it, and no one can take that away from you. And while we all want to relive the seminal moments in our lives (the original "Star Wars" certainly changed mine), I think we can cherish the memories without demanding that someone else try to resurrect it for us... especially if they are reluctant to do so. To use another analogy, perhaps we should stop trying to resurrect our loved ones after they've gone by desperately digging them up and burying them in that old Indian burial ground... remember, "sometimes dead is better".

I mean this in all respect to die-hard fans who hold that torch... carry your old memories close to your heart, but instead of just trying to relive them, let them inspire you to focus on making NEW memories... that's what I tried to do by becoming a professional in the film industry, and maybe pay it back by helping to inspire others through my work as those before me inspired me. That's MY homage and tribute to these wonderful films.

V

Man-Fai Wong · 09-11-2008, 01:35 PM

Just wanted to say that's a great, insightful (and edifying) reply, Van.

Now... where is my OAR Blu-ray of The Last Emperor??

_Man_

TravisR · 09-11-2008, 01:46 PM

Van, that's the best post on the subject that I've ever read. And I'm a big Star Wars fan so I've seen lots of posts about the OOT.

On a Star Wars-related note, the menus for the SW DVDs were amazing. I worked at a video store when The Phantom Menace DVD came out so I got a copy about a week and a half before the street date. Me and a buddy (who is a SW maniac) were excited about getting a copy early and about finally seeing SW on DVD and the menus just added to the fun viewing experience for us.

Brian Borst · 09-11-2008, 02:37 PM

Van, although I agree with your post in part (the nostalgia bit) it's a bit different for me.
I'm younger than the most Star Wars fans. The versions I watched for the first time were the Special Editions. I only got to see the original ones a couple of years later, on bootlegs. They were better, I thought. Everything looked right to me.
For me, it's not so much a nostalgic feeling, but just the feeling of preservation. The monumental Star Wars film from 1977 should also be available. I know George Lucas regards them as incomplete, and of course (as the creator) he has the right to change them if he wants. But Star Wars was such an iconic film (the story, the special effects, and almost every aspect of it) that it deserves to be well preserved.

Oliver_A · 09-11-2008, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Van Ling

Oliver - as a big fan of the originals myself, I actually try to take this following analogy in perspective: it's like seeing a girl you dated in high school now having gone through a lot of plastic surgery (perhaps excessively so)... she's still around, and you can sort of visit with her if you want, and you can respect her choices and her vanity for doing what she did to herself and acknowledge that she no longer looks like the same person you knew back in the day... but you'll always have the memories of prom night to hold onto and remember, and you still have the grainy prom photos you can look at. So you move on, share the photo with your kids if you want, and let it be.

Van, that may be a valid perception, however, there is another possibility how to evaluate the situation, if one starts to discuss this issue on a more metaphorical level.

Because, you see, the plastic surgery wasn't her choice, never has been. It was her father, who felt that 20 years after concieving this child, she isn't his daughter anymore. Even worse, never has been. All the friends she made during that period, who truly love her, were simply wrong in assuming so. And since her father doesn't love her anymore, there is no way on earth anyone else could love her. Her father however, thinks he can make her lovable by using the newest technology in plastic surgery available, so he uses it. Her friends suddenly are very alienated by her appearance, because they clearly see the marks this operation has left on her. Her face doesn't appear natural, because the pieces aren't fitting together anymore. He used skin tissue which has a totally different structure and fabric than the original one, it easily sticks out. So her father, in order to convince her friends she was always supposed to be that way, burns all of her old photographs, making new ones passing as the old ones. Many of her friends however, still have old & scratched photographs of how she used to look like, and in order to honor her memory, are trying to locate the best photographs available, to show everyone that this girl has been mistreated by her father. Because children, never exactly turn out what their parents intended them to be, but once they ARE OUT, they begin starting their own life, and choose paths their parents probably never dreamed of.

Quote:

Understand that fully half the moviegoing experience is what YOU as a viewer bring to it, and no one can take that away from you. And while we all want to relive the seminal moments in our lives (the original "Star Wars" certainly changed mine), I think we can cherish the memories without demanding that someone else try to resurrect it for us... especially if they are reluctant to do so. To use another analogy, perhaps we should stop trying to resurrect our loved ones after they've gone by desperately digging them up and burying them in that old Indian burial ground... remember, "sometimes dead is better".

How do you know she is dead? Lots of those girls have been declared lost in the past, but have been succesfully rescued. Granted, this child isn't much valued by its parents anymore, so they would never issue a rescue attempt. But her friends are eager to do so, because that's what friends are for.

Being also a fan of the Mona Lisa, and having seen it multiple times at the Louvre, I am so very glad that this piece of art so far, has withstood every attempt of destruction. I could, every time, book a trip to Paris, visit the Louvre, and see for myself: this is the real Mona Lisa. It was painted in the early 16th century by Leonardo da Vinci. It is a tribute to his genius, and a product of its time. It speaks for itself, there is no creator there anymore, who could succumb to feelings of insecurity, and change her to appeal to modern audiences.

Quote:

I mean this in all respect to die-hard fans who hold that torch... carry your old memories close to your heart, but instead of just trying to relive them, let them inspire you to focus on making NEW memories... that's what I tried to do by becoming a professional in the film industry, and maybe pay it back by helping to inspire others through my work as those before me inspired me. That's MY homage and tribute to these wonderful films.

I know what you mean. I am in no way an obsessed Star Wars worshipper, and I would never consider to judge my well-being or life just on the current state of those films, because, as you said, when everything fails, I still have my personal memories and experiences connected to them. I also agree with you that creating is much more valuable than just consuming.

Again, thanks for your elaborate participation. You mentioned in another thread you did a presentation on the trend of remodernizing classic films. It is indeed a very hard answer to determine where exactly the line could/should be drawn, especially to determine: what is restoration and what is revisionism? Are films art, or merely just a product, wrapped in plastic, in constant need to be re-evaluated and adapted to the current market?

But again, I don't want to make this a big issue here. Because the worst aspect of this would be people (especially fans) fighting and arguing over things which they simply have no impact on. Life is too short and wonderful, and I am looking forward to your next projects.